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pathologizing of love: A sociological analysis of codependency

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Date Issued:
1992
Summary:
A theory is developed to account for the emergence of the phenomenon of codependency. Codependency is targeted primarily at women since inequality constrains women from self-development outside relationships. It is argued that women experience relative deprivation and seek a socially acceptable way to avoid self-blame. Codependency's emergence in the late 1980s can be partly attributed to efforts of the recovery movement to secure legitimacy as agents of social control. The theory is tested by examining the emergence of the nineteenth-century illness called neurasthenia. It is argued that both codependency and neurasthenia are metaphors for female discontent. The particular expressions taken by discontent are largely determined by agents of social control.
Title: The pathologizing of love: A sociological analysis of codependency.
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Name(s): Irvine, Leslie J.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Appleton, Lynn M., Thesis advisor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Department of Sociology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1992
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 134 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: A theory is developed to account for the emergence of the phenomenon of codependency. Codependency is targeted primarily at women since inequality constrains women from self-development outside relationships. It is argued that women experience relative deprivation and seek a socially acceptable way to avoid self-blame. Codependency's emergence in the late 1980s can be partly attributed to efforts of the recovery movement to secure legitimacy as agents of social control. The theory is tested by examining the emergence of the nineteenth-century illness called neurasthenia. It is argued that both codependency and neurasthenia are metaphors for female discontent. The particular expressions taken by discontent are largely determined by agents of social control.
Identifier: 14799 (digitool), FADT14799 (IID), fau:11588 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1992.
Subject(s): Co-dependence (Psychology)
Women--Mental health--Sociological aspects
Love
Relationship addiction
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14799
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.